During a wellbore drilling operation, drilling fluid or “mud” is circulated through a mud circulation system. Typically, the mud flows down a drill string to a rotating drill bit, which is suspended in a borehole. The mud flows through to the drill bit and exits through openings in the drill bit. As the mud exits, it flushes drill cuttings generated away from the drill bit. Then, the mud flows up an annular space between the drill string and the wall of the borehole, carrying the drill cuttings to the surface.
A mud circulation system controller controls operation of the mud circulation system in a desired manner using one or more steady state or dynamic models. However, the drilling environment and the drilling process often affect the performance of the steady state or dynamic models and, as a result, the performance of the mud circulation system can deviate from an expected (or designed) performance.